Can orusher and baler



A y In: 0, n 4 3 6 9W 2 2 Il H. .'K.. .,ll. .wWv//f/l/ /f ,//4 Z 6 M. s. .WELLS CAN CRUSHER AND BALER Flled Dec 6, 1938 March 4, 194i.

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his :invention relebes r more c 'mele 1. use et e or e of empty voil sans sos-seo". e is o., is nel; re

to this particolar @ne ci of' me nvenlon ls 'izo presi?" 'che cene ere es oler 5c plunger Wllo. operates in @semer i roel VJssue to '521e eens cruels "so form e compact steel: about ef'oiclz erwe- Wire izo tightly secure 2me-m. formation,

mother object ci' elle ravenfioz is se prc'vrle the mechne en improves?, errengemem; er entrance door and relve opesefsrez' for controlling operation of e, plunger, the door be iras closer; when false valves ere ecljuseee so cessethe plumes? to move dorme] in e power stroke end thus eliminarse@ denser e eersoos heno becoming caught by being lnedverizently tlmlsrl inwardly through ille entreno@ during downward movement of the plunger.

Another object or" the inveoslorz is to so slrrange the means for admitting uld under pres sure that accidentel downward movement of the plunger will be prevented but such movement assured when a lever is actuated to close the door and open a. valve constituting en element of the press.

Another object of the invention is to so mount the plunger that it will be urged upwerdly but permitted to he forced downwardly et high pres sure and thus assure proper crushing enel 'celine of the cans.

Another object-of the invent-ion ls to so form the chamber in which the plunger operates that the cans will be centered therein erro. e. compe/ca stack of flattened cans formed. which will be of even dimensions end 'heid in e tightly compressed condition 'during application of the binding wire.

Another object of the invention is to provide a can Crusher and caler which is of simple consruction 'and very easy to operate,

The invention is illustrated in the accompany ing drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is e view showing the improved cer: Crusher and baler partially in side elevation end partially n Vertical section.

Fig. 2 is a. view looking at the rear of the machinewth theupper portions of the plunger and iss cylinder broken eS,

Aelle meer El e, secalone, View vertically er presion cylinder enel cls,l r e ce. pressure so reccre c zo compose?. or s" secured form Dele. housing roe-31 he 5 ci esoy desiree enel dem enel is pref ereolg rectangular le cross section, es shown housing open from and m order re close 3h-s open from. there have' eeen provldecl upper lower floors l emol 0 which ere hmgely mormtecl. es shown er. 5, in

order ther, aber may 'se opened end closed.

ll'hile opper enel lower doors. beve le is to se unerstoccl that moeras may ce provided if roer? bottom E ofthe locus* g is formeel versely extending; recess so een droppe into Ehe housing eno', 33ers bestem et opposite sides of che recess what toward `he recess so lfre. w en droppe into the housing it roll bottom and come to rest in she recess. [s sim: l@ is formeel across Iche bottom transversely of the seat or recess E? and this slot registers with the lower end of e slot H extending vertically in the rear well of the housing midway the Width thereof so the?, eiser e. num' er of cans have pressing operation.

En order so crush and compress the cans, there hes been provided e piston l@ which is in the form of e serons metall plete of cllmemsions adept ing it to fit snugly within the chamber 3 of the housing 2 enel slide vertically therein. Openings SBS are formed; in she piston so provide eis peserro. fellow @bhe piseorr 'o slide freely. This ing in the head or iop ls of the housing z and I9 disposed vertically over the housing and-havis of tubular formation to reduce its weight. The plunger extends longitudinally in a cylinder ing its lower end mountedin va collar II rising from the top of the housing. The cylinder may i be of any length and diameter desired and, at its upper end. has ahead I 8 in which is formed a threaded opening I9 and a threaded socket 20 having openings 2I at its bottom about a center opening 22. -A cup 23 of the type used upon reciprocating air pumps is mounted at the upper end of the plunger I4 and, in'order to, urge the plunger upwardly, there has been provided a coiled spring u disposed in the cyiinder about Sure.

the plunger with its upper end abutting the cup and its lower end resting on the top of the housing, as shown in Fig. 1. Upward movement of the plunger is limited by engagement of the collar 25 of the piston I2 with'the-.inner or under face of the cover I5. Below this collar the piston is formed with a depending rib or boss 26 which extends the full width of the piston and is provided to engage the cans and force them into the recess so that` when other cans are dropped intothe housing they will become centered. 'I'his depending boss also serves to reinforce'the central portion of the piston and prevent fracture or other damage when the piston is subjected to pressure.

The plunger is to be forced downwardly in a power stroke by uid under pressure, such as compressedair, and in orderto control the flow of this compressed air from the feed pipe 21 into the upper end of the'cylinder, there has been Aprovided a valve casing 28 which is of cylindrical formation and extends upwardly from the upper end of the cylinder I6 with its lower end screwed into the socket 29, An annular valve seat 29 is formed about walls of the valve casing below the feed pipe for engagement bya valve disc 39 carrled by a stem 3| which extends vertically in the casing 28 axially thereof and its upper end is secured through a piston 32 which ts snugly in the valve casing and is siidable longitudinally therein above the air inlet. It will thus be seen that the valve disc is operatively connected with the piston and will be moved into and out of engagement with the valve seat 29 when the piston isY moved longitudinally in the casing by air'pres- A small perforation 33 is formed through the piston 32 in order thatiair pressure above and below the piston may be equalized at certain times and allow the weight of the valve disc land piston to carry the valve disc downwardly into engagement with the valve seat, and it should be-noted that aboutthis perforation the piston is formed with a depending boss 34 which tapers downwardly and reduces likelihood of the perfo,- ration becoming clogged by particles of foreign matter which may enter the valve casing with the compressed air fromfthe pipe 21.

A An air outlet `35 is formed through the head 33 of the valve casing and flow of air through this ,outlet is contienenV by a valve a1 which has its stem'39 projecting upwardly and termi-v nating in a head 39 engagedby a spring 40 which urges the-valve upwardly to a closed position.

#Whexrthis-valverisclosed air passing through the will be held closed by its weight and also by pressure exerted thereon. When, however, the

'valve 31 isopened and air allowed to escape from the upper portion of the valve casing, pressure of air against the under surface of the piston 32. which is of greater area than the valve 39, will cause the piston to be shifted upwardly `and thel valve 30 will be lifted from the seat 29 to an open position and the compressed air maythen enter .the cylinder I6 to act upon the cup or piston 23 and force the plunger I4 downwardly so that the piston I2 will be moved downwardly in the hous- 'ing 2 and crush and flatten a can therein.

During upward movement of the plunger Id, air

mus-t be allowed to escape from the cylinder AI6.l 'and in order to do so, there has been provided an outlet pipe d! which may be of any length desired.. A valve d2 is mounted in the pipe 4I and is of the plug type, the plug 43 being formed with a bore dd for permitting escape of air whenA the plug is in the open position shown in Fig. 3. An operating lever 45 is provided for the valve plug and this levercarries a depending lug 4B disposed over the head 39 so that when the lever is swung downwardly to close the valve 42, the valve 3l will be opened by pressure applied t'o the head 39 of 'its stem. The valve 42 being closed and the valve 3l 'in open position, air will m-ove the valve 39 to its open position and then ow through the openings 2l into the cylinder I6 `to act upon the cup 23 'and force theplunger downwardly` in a power stroke. Whe the lever is returned toits normal position, the valve 31 will be closed by the spring 40, and since the valve .30 will then closeand the valve 42 be opened. the spring 24 will force the plunger upwardly to its initially raised position, air in'the cylinder above the cup being forced out through the pipe 4I during this upward movement of the plunger to its normal position.

When the plunger is forced l{downward in a power stroke, there would be danger of a person being injured i1' his hand were extending into the housing 2 through the inlet at the front thereof after dropping a can into the housing.

'It is, therefore,`desirable to have the door 4 the rear end ofi the lever by a link or rod 49.

When this can crusher and baier is in use, it isset up at a convenient location in a garage or ifilling station and the pipe 21 connected with a storagetank or otherA convenient sourceof air under pressure. Under normal conditions, the door4 is open and cans may be dropped 'into the housing through the open front thereof. As each Vcan is dropped into the housing, the lever 45 is grasped near its front end and swung downwardly to close the valve 42 and open. the valve 31.

Air will then act upon the piston 32 to open the valve 3Il'and air under pressure enters the cylinder to force the plungerl I4 downwardly in the `cylinder I6. During movement of the lever to adjust the valves 31 and 42, the door 4 will be closed and there will be no danger of a person's hand becoming caught under the plunger and linjured, lt being obvious that the lever cannot be moved into position to close the Ivalve 42 and open the valve 31 until the hand has been moved out of the way and the door closed by action of the bell crank lever 41 and the r'ods or links 48 and 49, When the piston engages ,the can which has come to rest in the seat or recess '9, pressure cylinderand yieldably held raised with` its inner end connected to said piston, apiston carried by said plunger within the cylinder, a valve casing communicating with the outer end of said cylin- 5. der, a-'feed pipe for uid under pressure communicating with-said casing, an outwardly openl ing valve in said casing for controlling ow o1' iluid' into Vsaid cylinder to impart a power stroke to the cylinder and the piston, an inwardly w, opening check valve at the outer end. of said casing, an actuating member for the discharge pipe Avalve constituting means vfor opening the check valve when moved to close the valve of the discharge pipe, andan operative connection .154 between 'the actuating member and the closure vi'or closing the closure when the valve of the discharge pipe is closed.

5. A can crusher and baler comprising a housing disposed vertically and having an inlet, a .closure for'said` inlet movable into and out of the plunger and the piston downwardly -inv a closed position, a pistonv slidable vertically in mamas power stroke, said iiuid inlet means including a main'valve and a normally closed checkvalve for controlling opening oi' the main valve, an actuating-lever for the outlet valve constituting means for opening :the check valve when the 5 valve and consequent dow of iluid under pressure intothe cylinder above the plunger to cause downward movement o! the plunger and piston.

v6. A can crusher and baler comprising a housing formed -with an inlet, a closure for the inlet 15 movable into and out of closed position, a` piston slidable vertically in said housing'froxn raised position at'the top oi the. housing to lowered position and when moved downwardly in a power stroke beingf adapted to crush cans therein and 20 build up a compact mass ofj'crushed cans for baling, valvecontrolled iluid operated means for rapidly moving the piston downwardly in a power stroke, -a -valve'controlled outlet for the cylinder, an actuating lever for the valve of the'outlet 25 constituting operating means for the valve of said fluid operated means, and means connectving said actuating levfer with said cmsure'for closing the closure-prior to downward movement of the piston and holding the closure closed 30;

during the 'downward movement of the piston,

i ing the check valve to allow opening of the main l0 

